OREANDA-NEWS. May 12, 2009. Representatives of AsiaUniversalBank visited two children’s homes- “Khadicha”, Children’s Rehabilitation Center in Kadji-Sai village, and Issyk Kul Youth Rehabilitation and Adaptation Center in Karakol city, reported the press-centre of AsiaUniversalBank.

Assistance was provided in the form of urgently needed supplies of food, detergents, and construction and repair materials.

When Kumushkan Akmatova, Director of Children’s Rehabilitation Center “Khadicha”, heard about AUB’s social responsibility program aimed to support socially disadvantaged people, she traveled to Bishkek and visited the Bank’s Management, in the hope of support and aid.

“Our children’s home is considered to be a private one, that’s why we don’t receive any state funding. We survive purely on the support from generous sponsors. I tell people, please do not turn a blind eye to the problems of abandoned children”, said Kumushkan Akmatova.

With modest funding support from a few organizations, the Children’s Rehabilitation Center “Khadicha” has been helping abandoned children for five years. The Center’s own staff carried out renovations of the building, which was previously in a miserable condition. Currently 59 children live in the Center, all of whom are in need of the bare necessaries of life.

The Youth Rehabilitation and Adaptation Center in Karakol city, has sheltered more than 200 young people since it opened eight years ago. It has many problems and anxieties concerning future funding.

“To help provide our residents with nutritious food we maintain and cultivate some nearby land and breed poultry. We urgently need barns, but construction materials are very expensive, and we cannot afford to buy them. That’s why we decided to appeal to AsiaUniversalBank. We hoped you won’t ignore our plight, since AUB is a major bank with branches throughout Kyrgyzstan, including our city of Karakol”, said Chinara Dubanbayeva, the Director of the Center, to the Management of OJSC “AsiaUniversalBank-Karakol” affiliated branch.

AsiaUniversalBank made a decision to support both children’s homes, and the Bank’s representatives left for Issyk Kul oblast. Because of the Bank’s extensive branch network (more than 80 affiliated branches throughout the Republic), all communications from the regions promptly reach AUB’s principal office. So when residents of the remotest areas of the country make requests to AsiaUniversalBank, the Bank’s management quickly here about it.

“No one can be indifferent to the plight of needy people, especially children”, said Elizabeth Zalkind, the Head of the PR Department. “We are aware that the Bank cannot help absolutely everyone who needs aid, but we strive to do our best. We see that abandoned children need not only material aid, but also love, warmth, attention and care. It’s exactly because of this that our staff pay particular attention to these issues and travel personally to visit children and senior citizens”.

“Of course, we have not resolved all the problems faced by these children’s homes. This charitable support is just one small aspect of the work carried out by AsiaUniversalBank over the years. It is a systematic, organized approach to alleviating social problems; our aim is to be efficient and decisive in achieving the common goal – building a safe, healthy and caring society.”